SHVERA Lobbying Grew Dramatically Over Past Year
Lobbying on the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act grew substantially in the first half of the year, an analysis of public disclosure records showed.
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A total of 57 lobbying forms listed the act as a lobbying issue Q2. Only four forms listed it a year earlier. The companies that mentioned SHVERA include General Electric, NBC’s parent company, Comcast, and CBS. The forms, which can list several issues a company wishes to lobby on, don’t say how much money each company spent on each matter.
Some companies list SHVERA as one of a few issues, making it easier to estimate how much was spent on lobbying efforts. For instance, the National Football League paid The Glover Park Group $45,000 for “legislative monitoring and outreach related to the reauthorization of [SHVERA] and other cable and communications issues,” according to one of its filings. Heart Television spent $10,000 on lobbying services from Brooks Pierce McLendon, Humphrey and Leonard, a North Carolina law firm, and SHVERA was the only legislation identified on the firm’s form.
Slightly fewer forms, 47, listed the act during the first quarter this year. Dish Network and DirecTV listed SHVERA as a lobbying issue for both of the first two quarters. Only 10 forms listed the act during the fourth quarter last year, including Dish, EchoStar, and CBS.
The debate on the Act is expected to decide two important policy questions: whether to allow satellite to import distant signals from adjacent markets and whether to require that satellite provide all local broadcast signals to subscribers. Broadcasters and DBS providers have long battled over the issues, both of which can affect audience sizes and advertising rates.
Lobbying on the issues has only increased since the last reauthorization of the satellite bill was included in the fiscal 2005 Appropriations Act. After many hearings and negotiations, broadcasters and DBS companies reached agreement on the distant signal license under Section 119 of the Copyright Act.
Far less money was spent on the 2004 SHVERA. Only Starz and DirecTV listed the act on their lobbying forms that year.